Thanks, Pop!

While Rodney and I were at the hospital with little Heidi, Clinton was fortunate enough to be spending lots of quality time with his Pop...which he has lovingly renamed Hop, Zap and Poppy.

I was so excited when my dad offered to come and stay with Clinton. It was so important to me that Clinton be able to stay at our house and remain on his schedule while his mommy and daddy were absent. Clinton loves his Pop and talks to him often on the phone. Many times he'll bring me the phone and ask for Pop. As we talk to him on speaker phone, Clinton will lean in and give the phone an occasional kiss or sometimes hold out his hands and sign "want"--which means he wants Pop to hold him. He and Pop make pigeon noises back and forth to each other and talk about trucks and other boy things. And he often cries when we have to say goodbye.

One time, the whole family (me, mom, Chelsea, dad and Clinton) were all on a conference call and every time dad would speak Clinton would make the "want" sign BUT every time mom or Chelsea would talk he'd make a barfing noise...it was so funny!

The morning we were getting ready to go get Pop from the airport, I told Clinton we were going to see Pop. He started saying, "Poppy, Poppy!" and ran off to his room. I heard his closet doors open and he returned with his cowboy hat and boots. He wore his boots the entire time Pop was here.

While Pop was here, the boys went to the park several times (one of Clinton's favorite things to do) and enjoyed several meals of chicken nuggets, french fries, and mandarin oranges at Wendy's (the only meal in the world Clinton will eat every bite of). They also read books and watched movies. The neighbor told me last week, he also saw them playing out in the back yard a lot.

Clinton is very observant and it seems he's learned a few things from his Pop, one thing in particular that made me laugh. My dad always carries a handkerchief in his back pocket, and that is where Clinton had to blow his nose when they were out. Well, yesterday Clinton ran up to the kitchen table (where I keep a stack of cloth napkins) twice, grabbed one, blew his nose, threw it on the floor and ran off. I reported the incident to Pop and Bebe, and now Clinton has his own toddler-sized handkerchiefs making their way to Tennessee with Bebe on Tuesday.

Clinton went to preschool while I was in labor, and dad got to come sit with us as we watched contractions on the monitor and debated girl names. Dad provided us with some "awesome" options, but we opted for Heidi instead...but we appreciate the input.

Thanks again, Pop...we were all so grateful to have you here and really appreciate all your help. We know our little man can be a handful, but he loved having you here and continues to ask about you often. We look forward to our next visit.

Heidi's first nap with Pop...the first of many, I'm sure.


With love and appreciation,